Michigan State football players welcome return of coach Mark Dantonio after heart attack

AP File PhotoMichigan State cornerback Chris L. Rucker said having coach Mark Dantonio at practice Tuesday fired up the team.

EAST LANSING -- Michigan State junior wide receiver Keith Nichol said practice felt normal again Tuesday, although perhaps with even more energy as coach Mark Dantonio returned to the team on a limited basis.

"Our boss was back, our dad was back," Nichol said. "It felt kinda weird without him last week, and just having him there makes you go that much harder. It's his presence. He coaches without having to say anything, and that speaks to the kind of coach he is."

Dantonio said he was back around the team Sunday, in the office Monday and at his weekly news conference Tuesday in an attempt to turn the focus of the program from him to Wisconsin.

The Spartans (4-0) meet Wisconsin (4-0) at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Spartan Stadium in the Big Ten season opener.

Dantonio deflected questions about himself and showed his sense of humor was intact in his opening remarks to the media.

"I'm going to ease back into this, much as anybody would after an injury," he said. "And since we don't discuss injuries, why discuss mine?"

Dantonio suffered what doctors called a minor heart attack after the Sept. 18 Notre Dame game and had a stent surgically placed to restore proper blood flow to his heart.

He watched Saturday's 45-7 win against Northern Colorado from home before going to a Lansing Catholic High School game to see halftime festivities in which his daughter Kristen was named homecoming queen.

On Tuesday, he addressed the team before and after practice, which he watched from a golf cart.

"I'm going to listen to our doctors and ease back into this and do something daily with our football team," he said. "We'll start with 'X' amount and build it back to where it was. That will at least be the plan as we move forward here."

Senior cornerback Chris L. Rucker said it was exciting to have Dantonio back at practice.

"It gave us a little pep in our step today in practice," Rucker said. "You see him. You go harder. He's our coach."

Senior right offensive tackle J'Michael Deane said he felt better after seeing Dantonio.

"It was such a shock when it happened," Deane said. "It's so great he's back. He's one of the strongest men I know. I knew he would pull through, but you know a heart attack, that's a big deal."

Junior quarterback Kirk Cousins said things felt more back to normal.

"He's doing his best to turn the attention away from him and have us focus on Wisconsin," Cousins said. "They are a great team. He knows that. Coach is coaching. It was a little more business as usual today. Coach is back and the focus is on Wisconsin."

Dantonio said that at this point he plans to be in the press box Saturday.

"I expect walking around out there for three hours would be a bit tiring," he said.

He also expects the heart attack will change his life and diet.

"Hopefully, it makes me a wiser person, a more compassionate person, a better coach," he said. "I really do believe what doesn't kill you will make you stronger."

Dantonio started his news conference with a long list of acknowledgments to those who had contacted him.

"Their thoughts and prayers gave me a lot of comfort, and it's something I will remember the rest of my life," he said.